North Gaston falls to Burns in opening round

Friday

Nov 15, 2013 at 12:01 AMNov 15, 2013 at 11:39 PM

Staff Reports

LAWNDALE — It might not have been the sharpest the Burns Bulldogs have looked this season.

But in the postseason, appearances don’t matter. The main thing is that after a 35-18 opening-round victory at Ron Greene Stadium in the rain against North Gaston, the 11-1 Bulldogs know they’ll be moving on in the 3A state playoffs.

The contest really wasn’t as close as the final score made it seem. Burns zoomed out to a 35-6 lead by late in the third period and the Wildcats (6-6) were able to punch across a pair of scores in the final five minutes versus the Bulldog reserves.

“We were able to get that lead pretty quick,” Burns coach Matt Beam said. “We talked about that because we knew the weather was going to get worse.”

The Bulldogs, who play at South Point next week, got contributions from a number of sources in the win. Quarterback Chris Montgomery ran for 147 yards and passed for 126 more. He ran for one touchdown and threw for another, plus a two-point conversion.

Jaylin Hill hauled in a 51-yard scoring pass and also had a one-yard touchdown run. Jalen King contributed 94 yards rushing, including a 23-yard scoring run. Those performances were crucial with standout running back Tylan Ruff missing the contest with injury.

“I was so proud of Jaylin Hill and Jalen King,” Beam said. “Jalen King ran hard. And Chris (Montgomery) took an extra load of running for us.”

The defense also got in on the scoring act as Michael Tate intercepted a North Gaston throw and returned it 37 yards for a touchdown.

Burns built a 21-0 halftime advantage by converting key third downs on several drives, rolling up 14 first downs in the process. While that was happening, the Bulldog defensive front was putting the clamps on the Wildcats’ option offense, limiting North to three first downs before the break.

The Bulldogs then came out quickly in the third period and moved to take a 28-0 lead only three minutes into the second half.

“It should be a war,” Beam said of next week’s showdown in Belmont. “We’re excited and I’m sure South Point is excited. It’s going to be a great atmosphere for football. It has to be the best second-round matchup around.”

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